Geoshawk Issue No.18

Treasury sanctions Russians over Disinfo, South Africa bracing for electoral disinfo flood, Arizona fortifying election security, & EU officials consider a Tiktok ban

Alright, alright, alright, y’all. I missed Monday and Friday’s release due to a new job.

I’m also in the middle of moving. I’m in Texas, but I will be in Chicago from April.

So, quite a busy time…As for Geoshawk?I am continuing it! But reducing to 1x/week.

It will be released on Monday or Friday, but I am aiming for Friday.

NOW onto this week’s top MDM and Info Ops headlines!

Today’s edition will have 23 stories.

FYI: Articles do not = endorsement

GLOBAL HIGHLIGHTS:

• Meta to shutter key disinformation tracking tool before 2024 election (The Record by Recorded Future, 22 March)

• Elon Musk calls X ‘number one source of news in the world’—and also a ‘hardcore, player versus player platform’ (Fortune, 18 March)

• US election: turning off TikTok is a big risk for the Democrats (The Conversation, 21 March)

• Could Germany be the first in Europe to ban TikTok? Lawmakers call for debate following US vote (Euronews, 22 March)

• Meta's success in suppressing misinformation on Facebook is patchy at best, finds study (Techxplore, 22 March)

• South Korea hosted summit warns of AI risks to democracy (Reuters, 18 March)

ELECTION WATCH:

• Warning over disinformation campaigns in South Africa (Businesstech, 21 March)

• Meet the Arizona Election Official Combating Misinformation One Tweet at a Time (Wired, 19 March)

USA:

• Arizona's Maricopa County bolsters election security amidst disinformation threats (23 March, Turkiyenewspaper)

• US levels new sanctions over Russian disinformation campaign (The Hill, 20 March)

• Russia's lies helped persuade Niger to eject US troops, AFRICOM says (Defenseone, 21 March)

RUSSIA:

• Disinformation and defamation campaign against IOC continues (Olympics, 21 March)

• Putin’s re-election and the messages it brings (EUvsDisinfo, 21 March)

• From Russia, Elaborate Tales of Fake Journalists (NYT, 18 March)

• Unpacking the Kremlin media blitz surrounding Gagauzia leader’s Russia visit (DFRLab, 19 March)

MENA:

• Claims that Palestinians are staging videos of their injuries are, once again, proved false (France24, 20 March)

• The Defence Intelligence of Ukraine uncovered a powerful Kremlin propaganda attack in the Middle East: what it hides (TSN.ua, 21 March)

CAUCASUS:

• Azerbaijan Preparing Groundwork for Another Large-scale Escalation, Employing Disinformation (Mirrorspectator, 23 March)

• Armenian propaganda machine carries on instilling anti-Azerbaijan sentiments (Azernews, 19 March)

• USAID Caucasus Mission Director: We are working to help ensure free and fair elections in October - long-term observers will arrive next month (IPN, 19 March)

• Paris caught up in Armenia's influence battles extending from internet underbelly to streets of Yerevan (Intelligenceonline, 22 March)

CENTRAL ASIA:

• Kyrgyzstan: Reshuffle at news outlet offers fresh hints of media scene decline (Eurasianet, 20 March)

• Karakalpak Activist Faces Threat of Deportation From Kazakhstan (voanews, 16 March)